PETITION FOR LETTERS OF ADMINISTRATION INSTRUCTIONS I. Specific Instructions 1. This form is to be used for a Petition for Letters of Administration pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 53-6-20 et seq. 2. Use of this form is permissible, but not mandatory, in connection with a Petition for Appointment of a Successor Administrator, pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 53-6-21(b). Appropriate strikethroughs must be made, and additional information must be given concerning the identity of the previous Administrator, the reason for the vacancy in the office, and the date the office became vacant. 3. With respect to the conditions under which the judge may, pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 53-7-1(b), waive bond and/or grant certain powers contained in O.C.G.A. § 53-12-261, note: (a) All of the heirs must consent, and (b) Notice must be published. [NOTE: Acknowledgments must be on separate pages. Acknowledgments that are submitted on the same page will not be accepted.] 4. Signatures of heirs who acknowledge service must be sworn to before a notary public or the Clerk of any Probate Court of this State. An attorney at law may acknowledge service on behalf of an heir; however, the attorney must certify that he or she currently represents that heir with regard to the pending matter and, in order to comply with O.C.G.A. § 53-11-6, the attorney's signature must be sworn to as provided above. With regard to a power of attorney, the attorney-in-fact may acknowledge service on behalf of the grantor of the power, provided that the power of attorney grants such authority, the signature of the attorney-in-fact is attested, a copy of the power of attorney is attached, and the attorneyin-fact certifies that the copy is a true copy and is still in effect. 5. O.C.G.A. § 53-11-2 provides that a party to a probate proceeding who is not sui juris must be represented by a guardian, provided that the Court may appoint a guardian ad litem or determine that the natural guardian, guardian, conservator, or testamentary guardian has no conflict and may serve. Should a guardian ad litem be necessary because a party is not sui juris, use Supplement 1. 6. Paragraph 4 requires sufficient factual information for the Court to conclude that those listed in Paragraph 3 include each and every heir of the Decedent and that there are not additional heirs of the same or closer degree according to O.C.G.A. § 53-2-1. These facts must allow the Court to rule out the possibility that there may be other heirs of the same or closer degree who have not been listed. Provide the date of death of any deceased heirs and the name of the deceased heir's Personal Representative if applicable. The Personal Representative of a deceased heir(s) is authorized to consent on behalf of that heir. O.C.G.A. § 53-7-1. [NOTE: If you are uncertain how to determine the heirs of a Decedent, refer to the "Heirs Determination Worksheet" available from the Probate Court or at www.gaprobate.gov.] Examples of such statement would be: (a) "Decedent was or was not married at the time of his death and had no children born, adopted, living or deceased, other than listed herein"; (b) "Decedent had no other siblings half or whole other than those listed herein"; (c) "the Decedent's brother who died previously had no other children born, American LegalNet, Inc. www.FormsWorkFlow.com GPCSF 3 [i] Eff. July 2016 adopted, living or deceased, other than listed herein." 7. According to Probate Court Rule 5.6 (A), unless the Court specifically assumes the responsibility, it is the responsibility of the moving party to prepare the proper citation and deliver it properly so it may be served according to law. All pages after the Notice regarding Uniform Probate Court Rule 5.6 (A) are to be completed by the moving party, unless otherwise directed by the Court. 8. Use Supplement 3 when an additional certificate of service is necessary. 9. Exhibits should be labeled at the bottom of each exhibit as Exhibit "A," Exhibit "B," etc. in consecutive order. The corresponding letter of each said exhibit should be inserted into the appropriate place in the form. 10. An oath must be administered by a Probate Judge or Clerk (the oath cannot be administered by a notary public). Use Georgia Probate Court Supplement 4 for the oath. The oath is not included in this form. Georgia Probate Court Standard Form 53, Commission to Administer Oath, can be used if the oath is to be administered by a court outside the State of Georgia. II. General Instructions General instructions applicable to all Georgia Probate Court Standard Forms are available in each Probate Court or at www.gaprobate.gov, labeled GPCSF 1. American LegalNet, Inc. www.FormsWorkFlow.com GPCSF 3 [ii] Eff. July 2016 IN THE PROBATE COURT OF _______________________ COUNTY STATE OF GEORGIA IN RE: ESTATE OF ___________________________________, DECEASED ) ) ) ) ESTATE NO. ____________ PETITION FOR LETTERS OF ADMINISTRATION The petition of ___________________________________________________________ [Full name(s) of Petitioner(s)] First Street Street City City County County Middle State State Last Zip Code Zip Code whose physical address(es) is/are __________________________________________________, and mailing address(es) is/are _____________________________________________________, shows to the Court the following: 1. _____________________________________________________________________, [Full name of Decedent] First Middle Last whose place of domicile was ____________________________________________________, Street City County State Zip Code departed this life on ______________________, 20______, intestate. 2. The Decedent died intestate [without making a valid Last Will and Testament]. 3. Listed below are all of the Decedent's heirs at law, with age or majority status, address, and relationship to the Decedent set opposite the name of each: Name Age (or over 18) Address Relationship ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________